How to streamline your inventory in one simple step.

Running your own business involves expertly managing a staggering variety of tasks ranging from direct customer service to all of the essential functions that go on in your back office. When you consider the sheer number of benchmarks you strive to achieve regularly, it’s no wonder that you may be missing out on ways to create efficiencies and send your customer service (and sales), into the stratosphere. The answer lies in a hardware-software combination that you may already have, a feature-rich device that has a full potential you have likely not yet brought to fruition. 

The simple solution.

If you haven’t already guessed, we are talking about your point of sale (POS) system. Sure, it was once designed only to accept credit card payments by reading the unique details on a customer’s card and communicating them to your processing company, but that entity then passed them on to the other players in the journey for approval within just a few seconds.

With the advent of even more sophisticated technology, as well as a demand for more complex functions, today’s POS equipment has evolved into far more. Here are some of the most important tasks your smart POS system can assist you with:

• Customer relationships. Your POS has a database function that enables you, with your customers’ permission, to gather data about them including email and physical addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth, as well as details about their interests and buying histories. Once you have these facts, you possess a gold mine that you can tap into when you launch email and marketing campaigns and set forth your goals for upcoming growth.
• Employee management. If you’re like many small to mid-sized business owners, keeping track of the schedules and performance data for your staff takes up a great deal of your time and energy. While dealings with your team should always involve a certain amount of hands-on interactions, your POS system should be capable of automating some portions to make things easier. 
• Contactless payments. Since the pandemic began in early 2020, businesses have focused more than ever on keeping workers and customers safe. Touchless payments help to achieve this goal by removing all physical interaction between buyer and seller during the purchase process. Most modern POS systems come equipped to accept contactless payments on their terminals, a hygienic, yet still secure and speedy, payment experience more and more customers are demanding.
• Report generation. Your smart POS system should be equipped to store a wealth of customer, employee, and inventory data. This will allow you to generate numerous types of reports based on real-time analytics, including sales performance, sales forecasting, employee activity, profits and losses, and much more. The spreadsheets and reports you generate can be used to motivate your workers, spearhead your next marketing campaign, or incentivize investors.

If your POS solution could only provide you with these powerful features, you would still benefit from its presence in your business operations. However, we have saved the most important capability for last because its presence alone can catapult your retail store to the next level of performance and efficiency.

Transform your inventory management with your POS system.

Your business cannot flourish if you fail to maximize the sale potential of your merchandise. For that reason alone, you need to have a complete understanding at all times of exactly what items you have in store, what you need, who wants to buy what you are selling, and how much your potential customers are willing to pay for your wares. Containing all of these details in your head or on disparate pieces of software that do not always play well together can spell disaster for your bottom line. Fortunately, one integrated POS solution (along with its payments software and a secure, online merchant portal) should enable you to seamlessly manage your inventory like never before. 

Your hub for integrated solutions across your business.

On one level, your point of sale system is a cash register that processes payments. Beneath the surface, however, it functions as a reservoir of valuable customer details and a one-stop solution for all of your sales and accounting needs. Because it is cloud-based, you and your team can access reports and data from any internet-connected device, at any time.

Your cloud-based POS should also have the unique ability to let you track your flow of inventory across your entire business. Best of all, this third-party software storage and maintenance suite is an inexpensive way to have access to some of the best business-related programs in the industry without needing to invest significant financial resources to obtain them.

Streamline your purchase orders.

Not so long ago, you felt responsible for manually keeping your finger on the pulse of your entire inventory process, from ordering to restocking and everything in between. Attempting to juggle all of those details inevitably led to errors and omissions. With a smart POS system at your side, you’ll be able to notice and analyze inventory-related patterns. Once your system is up and running, you can keep stock volumes at optimal levels to ensure you’ll never run out of bestsellers or re-order items that are not moving off your shelves.

Enhance inventory accuracy with real-time data.

It begins with your barcode scanner and proceeds through your register and into your POS system’s reporting capabilities. Thanks to its ability to track goods from endpoint to endpoint, you will never lose track of a sale or a write-off. With live inventory counts up and running, you can give your valued customers exactly what they want, when they want it, with no frustrating delays.

Gain sales insights.

When you run your own business, it sometimes seems that you hardly have a second to come up for air. In this fast-paced environment, how can you possibly find the time to sit down and pore over spreadsheets and receipts to learn what is selling, at what volume, and when and to whom? Fortunately, your smart POS solution will once again have your back thanks to its built-in ability to store data on everything you buy and sell. In an instant, you can bring up organized reports from anywhere, including on your smartphone, so you can diagnose the health of your business and the productivity of your employees even when you’re not on site. Then, use the data available to you to capitalize on positive trends, as well as to nip potential problems in the bud.

Provide more tailored customer service.

When your inventory management is efficient and waste is kept to a minimum, you can begin to stock more of what your buyers actually want. This not only means having popular items in stock but also being able to expand your offerings according to customer desires. 

Reward buyer loyalty.

One of the most important aspects of inventory management involves incentivizing customers to expand not only how many items they buy, but also the range of goods they purchase. Today’s guests want a holistic shopping experience that recognizes their uniqueness and importance throughout the buying journey, and the proper POS system can help you to provide that. Use the personal details your buyers give you to curate their relationship with you. This might include special discounts to celebrate their birthday, coupons related to past purchases, members-only sales, and even exclusive rewards for referring friends and family. In short, your POS system can and should help you to transform a one-time buyer into a long-term ambassador for your brand.

The true advantage that the right POS solution can offer your business lies in its seamless integration with all of your other systems and software. Thanks to the information this modern payments marvel can provide, you’ll be able to be proactive in many of your operational tasks by identifying bottlenecks before they cause major disruptions.

Having accurate details of your inventory at every step is essential if you are to succeed in this highly competitive commercial climate. Luckily, the tools for effective inventory management that can help your business to flourish are either at your fingertips right now or are easily available through a reputable merchant services provider. Don’t wait another day to tap into the numerous inventory-related advantages that a modern POS system can offer you, your team, and your customers.